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Hoisington City Council approves hotel TGT request
Proposal for property transfer given nod
new-vlc-Hoisington city co aquisition.jpg
This screen shot is an aerial photograph of the piece of property (outlined in yellow) the City of Hoisington proposes to purchase from the ownership group of The Rodeway Inn in order to secure public access to the north side of Bicentennial Park. The recent additions of a dog park and disc golf course, as well as the proposed bike share program has made permanent access an important goal of the city.

HOISINGTON — Meeting virtually for the first time by Zoom, the Hoisington City Council gathered Monday night to consider the latest request for transient guest tax dollars, a proposed property tax transfer, and to hear an update on city operations since the county became one of the 60 counties in the state with a confirmed positive case of COVID-19. 

The first item of new business is a request for $8,000 of Transient Guest Tax dollars from the Rodeway Inn hotel ownership group. With the current statewide shutdown, guest stays at the hotel have been significantly reduced in recent weeks. But, looking forward to when the state reopens, the group stressed the importance of continuing marketing efforts to position the hotel as a go-to resource for visitors and workers are anticipated in the near future. 

“Rodeway Inn & Suites is requesting $8,000 from the City’s transient guest tax fund to help us meet the marketing challenges that will help the hotel recover from the Covid-19 crisis and continue current promotional and marketing activities,” the request states. Council person Becky Steiner is associated with the ownership board. The marketing efforts are to promote the local hotel, not the national chain, she added. Web and radio marketing efforts and brochure placement at points of entry to the state will be the focus of the plan. There were 7,000 visitors to the hotel over the past year, and there continue to be 8 to 10 rooms filled daily, mostly by contractors working on essential projects. 

The decision to remain open during this time came down to need. The workers need places to stay, and the hotel needs funding and is continuing to provide employment. The second floor of the hotel is currently closed, and workers have been cleaning and disinfecting it, and at some point in the future the first floor will undergo the same process with the second floor rooms available for guests. 

The council expressed continued support for the hotel, recognizing its importance to the city for bringing in transient guest tax dollars. They approved the request. 

In addition to being the key location for visitors, the hotel is also advantageously placed adjacent to Bicentennial Park, and is working with the city to jointly market the new amenities at the park, and will provide a space to check out bikes in the near future when the city’s bike share program is up and running. But, while the relationship is warm now, both parties recognize things could change in the future. When the city learned that land it believed it owned next to the hotel’s driveway and parking lot was actually owned by the hotel, both parties agreed it would be best to transfer a small section of the land to the city to insure public access on the north side of the park. The ownership group offered to give the land to the city provided the city picked up all costs associated with the transfer. Upon review of the proposal, the council gave the go ahead for Mitchell to meet with the city’s attorney and draw up the necessary paperwork. 

City moves to “warning” status

Mitchell provided an update on the measures the city has taken in recent weeks in relation to the COVID-19 response. When the county experienced its first confirmed case of the viral disease, the city moved from a “watch” status to a “warning” status, he said. 

The shift prompted the city to close all offices to the public, and to split each department into two teams. Each team works three 12-hour days each week, with team one working Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and team two working Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This arrangement allows for continuity of service, and protects a department from having to be shut down completely if an employee is quarantined or becomes sick, Mitchell said. In between shifts, the departments are cleaned and fogged with disinfectant before the next team comes on.

The city’s EMS department recently experienced a scare, he went on, when a routine transfer call resulted in two EMTs being quarantined. A routine transfer turned out to include a presumed positive patient, and the crew was not made aware, Mitchell said. As a result, the Hoisington EMS is strictly following CDC guidelines and treating every call as though the patient could be COVID-19 positive. 

Masks are in short supply, Mitchell said, in response to the question by Councilman Gary Shook. 

“We’ve been reaching out to everyone, but there’s lots of competition and there’s not enough to go around,” he said. Therefore, protocols to preserve and reuse N-95 masks are also in place. 

Whenever an EMT uses a mask, at the end of the run, she puts it in a brown paper bag, labels the bag with the run and the person treated. After 5 days, the quarantined mask can be used by the same EMT again provided the person on the call does not get confirmed positive. 

“If we didn’t reuse these masks, we’d run out of them pretty fast,” Mitchell said. 

In addition to the cautions being taken by city staff, the pool advisory board is putting its RFP for the pool on hold until after the order is lifted, and the city is following suit by postponing bids for work on the Municipal Complex until later. It is too risky for contractors to come at this time, Mitchell said.